Englishes past and present as Complex Dynamic Systems (Schneider)

For a long time I have been fascinated by two theories which were developed in mathematics and the sciences but have been successfully adopted to explain phenomena in biology and the social sciences as well – chaos theory at first, and, more recently, the theory of Complex Dynamic Systems, which to some extent incorporates the former. I believe that many of the fundamental principles and properties of complex systems posited in this theory apply to and determine the evolution of human languages as well, and of English in particular. Looking at general developmental trajectories of specific features and phenomena through time and space, in the history of English and into present-day varieties, allows us to identify manifestations and effects of such principles.

Publications and presentation